A young boy who died of a brain tumour may have been saved if doctors had spotted the condition, a coroner has ruled.

Max Earley, two, was seen by a number of doctors but a series of blunders meant his tumour remained undiagnosed for several weeks.

Max fell ill in August 2012 when he started repeatedly vomiting, but doctors failed to diagnose his condition until just days before he died the following month.

An inquest at Westminster coroner’s court heard that the tumour was initially missed after one doctor incorrectly read a CT scan at Hillingdon Hospital. Another test had shown a potential hernia so Max was referred to London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, while an MRI scan was ‘put on hold’.

After being allowed home the youngster was readmitted to Chelsea and Westminster in September and his condition deteriorated. On September 23 he was rushed to Great Ormond Street where his tumour was finally diagnosed, but despite emergency surgery he died five days later aged 27 months.

Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe gave a narrative verdict finding that there were several errors, saying the evidence at the inquest was that the tumour was removable up until Max deteriorated on September 23.

She added: ‘A complete resection would have, on the balance of probabilities, resulted in a good chance of cure.’

However, she also said both hospitals had since made changes to their radiology processes to ensure similar circumstances did not happen again.

Mistakes: Max Earley ‘could have been saved’ (Picture: Leigh Day/PA)

At the inquest Max’s mother Caroline Earley had described how she had ‘watched him die’.

After the inquest she and Max’s father Vladimir Earley said: ‘We are at a loss to understand how in a modern healthcare system Max’s brain tumour was not properly identified for a month since it was first suspected.

‘In that time Max had got weaker and weaker, he lost weight and must have been in terrible pain at times. He was too young to tell us how he was feeling and we are saddened beyond words that we could not help him despite having placed him in the hands of the doctors.’

They added: ‘We did our best for our child but there were times when we weren’t listened to and Max’s changing behaviour was not appreciated.

‘Towards the end, Max’s father had to hold his son while he had a prolonged seizure which was not recognised as such, despite his attempts to get help for his son. If his tumour had been diagnosed, Max’s life would have been saved.’

A spokeswoman for the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust would like to offer its condolences to Max Earley’s parents.

‘It notes the findings of the coroner’s investigation and hopes that Max’s family is reassured by the actions put in place since his death.’